So when it takes me fifteen minutes to prep them for playing outside, I want them to play longer than I spent preparing them for the cold. Most often their gloves fall off or get wet, sending their freezing hands inside within five minutes of stepping out.

A handful of hand warmers seem to hold the kids over for a while longer, and are inexpensive and easy to make when using items on hand.

Materials:

Scrap t-shirt material

Needle and thread

Rice or beans

Cut scrap t-shirts into any shape. Lay two identical pieces on top of each other and sew around the edges, leaving a one inch opening. Clip the corners.

Turn right side out.

Pour rice or dry beans (whichever is in your pantry) into the warmer. Fill between two-thirds to three-fourths full.

Hand stitch the opening closed.

Heat the warmers in the microwave. I microwave for 15 seconds. Different microwaves have different heating capacities, so I recommend starting with 10 seconds and working your way to a longer time to find what is comfortable for you and your kids.

Sara Lanan is author of up and coming craft blog, Craft Snob, where you can keep up with the latest pretty crafts for pretty crafters. Once an engineer by profession, she has turned stay-at-home-mom to make the most of precious moments with her two small children. Sara gives credit to her mom for initiating her into the world of crafts as a little girl.